Journey into Strange Mystery
by Kaluu
Summary: In order to stop Mephisto from taking Satan's throne, young Loki must cease to exist. There must be another way! Daimon's solution: Doctor Strange.


_Disclaimer: All characters and backstory belong to Marvel._

Intro: At the end of Mighty Thor 21, Daimon Hellstrom tells Loki and Leah that Mephisto has taken the Fear Crown and intends to ascend the throne of Satan. Then, in Journey into Mystery 645, younger Loki goes to speak to older Loki, who tells him that the crown is made from younger Loki's thoughts so the only way to stop Mephisto is for young Loki to cease to exist, which would in turn make the crown cease to exist. This would allow older Loki, who was separate all this time from Loki in the form of the bird Ikol, to take Loki's place. This occurs after Loki's three conversations and before his return to older Loki.

* * *

"Wait! Leah! Loki!" Hellstrom stumbled to his feet and followed after them to Hela's realm but was too late. "Where are they?" he demanded of Hela.

"I sent Leah into the distant past, and Loki had gone to see his brother Thor," Hela said. "What business of it is yours, Son of Satan?"

"Dammit." Hellstrom didn't answer her. Instead, he chased after Loki. "Say goodbye to your brother, did you?"

Loki jumped. He remembered just in time to not say a word lest he break his oath to his older self.

"I told you: Mephisto has the Crown of Fear. He will take Satan's throne and become the King of All Hells! We have to stop him!" Loki simply stood there, tears in his eyes as he thought about what was to come. Daimon grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shook him. "Cry on your own time, kid. We need to stop Mephisto before he ascends the throne—today!"

Loki shook his head.

"No? Have you already taken care of it with one of your clever little plans?" Nothing would please Daimon more.

Loki shrugged.

"Yes or no?"

Loki nodded. He had decided this didn't count as conversation.

"Good. Tell me the plan. Let's get to work." Loki shook his head. "You don't need me?" Daimon guessed. Loki nodded. "Like hell you don't! I don't know why you can't talk—probably a mystic mouth clamp or something—but it means you don't have control of the situation. I don't trust you. I can't afford to trust you. We have too much to lose."

Loki threw his arms up in the air.

"Playing charades is really starting to piss me off," Daimon growled. Loki shrugged and threw his arms up again. "What can we do?" Loki nodded. Daimon grinned. "Don't worry. I have the solution. Two words: Doctor Strange."

* * *

"You're still not Sorcerer Supreme?" Daimon's hair burst into fire at the very thought. "You're Doctor Strange! Just take the f-ing job already!"

"It's not that simple," Doctor Strange said calmly. He was used to Daimon's hot-headed temper tantrums and wasn't intimidated in the least. "The Sorcerer Supreme must be—"

"Whatever. You're not as powerful as before, but you're still Master of the Mystic Arts." Hellstrom grabbed Loki by the hair and forced him to look up at Strange. The pain made his eyes water. "How can you refuse to help a kid with a face like that?"

"I never said I would not help. I was simply answering your questions regarding the state of the position of the Sorcerer Supreme." Stephen's black turtleneck and slacks were replaced by blue tunic and pants with a golden sash around his waist. "This is about Mephisto and the Crown of Fear, yes?"

"So you do know about it!" Hellstrom said triumphantly. See? He knew Strange was no slouch or second-rate sorcerer just because he had lost the support of one (technically three) deity (deities).

"Yes. Let's get to work."

* * *

"Loki and I will enter Nightmare's realm, where I will speak to him about the crown," Dr. Strange said. "Daimon, we will need you to 'wake' us if all does not go according to plan."

"Loki can't even speak. What's the use of bringing him along?" Daimon asked.

"The crown is made of his thoughts," Strange explained. "Loki can't speak, but Nightmare will be able to detect the validity of my claims through Loki."

Dr. Strange lit a candle; Daimon simply needed to put out the flame to summon them back to this dimension. Then Strange took Loki's hand and held up the Jewel of Transhypnosis in his other hand.

"You've been to the heart of Nightmare's realm before," Strange said to Loki. "Concentrate on that memory."

Loki's forehead furrowed as he tried to do his part in the spell. He liked the idea of being able to do magic, though obviously it wasn't him doing the magic. Still, Loki had heard that Strange had no magic powers of his own and performed all his spells by calling upon deities who did possess magic or using magical artifacts. So in some ways, this did kind of count.

It didn't take long for Nightmare to sense the intruders in his realm. He glared at Loki, the source of his current predicament.

"You." Energy crackled at Nightmare's fingertips. Dr. Strange raised a shield of the Seraphim. "And you," he said in a cold tone to Loki's bodyguard. "What do you want?"

"I want the Crown of Fear," Dr. Strange stated in an even tone. Nightmare laughed.

"I don't have it anymore. Don't you know, 'Sorcerer Supreme'? Mephisto has it."

"I do know. We intend to retrieve it and need your aid to do so."

"Why? So I can become a slave to a mere mortal man?" Nightmare sneered.

"I would not use the crown of fear to rule you. In fact, I would seek to protect it from any who may use it for such a purpose," Dr. Strange said earnestly. "You have known me for a long time and know this to be true. The question is: do you want to be Mephisto's slave?"

"If he can use the fear crown to destroy you, then perhaps it'll be worth it."

"Oh?" Dr. Strange crossed his arms and looked at him archly. "Do you not wish to defeat me yourself? You know I'm no longer Sorcerer Supreme. My powers are significantly weaker than before."

"A very transparent trick," Nightmare scoffed.

"But I make a valid argument."

"Indeed you do. If you possess the crown, then my chances of seizing it are increased." Nightmare rubbed his chin. He glanced thoughtfully at Loki. A plan was already forming in the fear lord's head. "Very well. What do you need of me?"

"Simply take no action against us when we move against Mephisto."

"Done."

* * *

Dr. Strange and Loki returned to the Sanctum Santorum.

"Well?" Daimon demanded. They hadn't been gone long, and their quick return worried the Son of Satan.

"It went smoother than I expected," Strange admitted and put a hand on Loki's head. "He plays the part of a helpless puppy quite well."

"Well, that's no surprise. He doesn't have any powers."

"And I have less than before," Dr. Strange reminded Daimon. "But it does not mean we are powerless." Loki was really starting to like the Master of Mystic Arts.

"Now what?" Daimon asked.

"Loki and I will visit the other fear lords as we did Nightmare," Dr. Strange said. "And then I will speak to Mephisto."

"Just you?"

"Just me."

"Lucky you."

* * *

"You have a lot of toys," Daimon noted as Dr. Strange picked up one of his many artifacts. "What's that one do?"

"This is an amulet given to me by Thunderstrike," Dr. Strange said. "It will shield me from detection from the demons in Mephisto's Hell. I must speak to Mephisto and can't allow myself to die at the hands of his servants."

"And this big ass fire?" Daimon's job was to keep it burning.

"The Brazier of Bom'Galiath maintains the spell that allows me to enter Mephisto's Realm undetected."

"You're no stranger to Mephisto."

"Definitely not. I'm on his top ten most wanted list." Dr. Strange mentally commanded the Cloak of Levitation to drape itself over him and put the Amulet of Agamotto at its center.

"And you're telling me you're not the Sorcerer Supreme anymore?" Daimon scoffed incredulously.

"At the moment, there is no Sorcerer Supreme. I might as well make use of these artifacts in his or her absence. Besides, in truth, they aren't even artifacts of the position. I received them when I was still only a Master of the Mystic Arts." Dr. Strange checked his pockets for other artifacts that might later prove to be useful if he needed to fight his way out.

"Ready?"

"I am as ready as one can be when entering hell to prevent the final stages of its unification. Further preparations would only be delay at this point, and time works against us." Dr. Strange raised his arms. A sphere of energy surrounded him.

"Sphere of the Seraphim, steady and true

Grant me protection in what I must do!

Speed me now on to the infernal fray!

Let no power stop me tho' hell bar the way!"

* * *

Doctor Strange's sphere levitated just above Mephisto's open hand.

"Welcome to my domain, Sorcerer Supreme." Either Mephisto had grown himself to the size of a giant or he had shrunk Strange to the size of a toy soldier. "For you are the Sorcerer Supreme, are you not? Other fools may be deceived, but I am the Lord of Lies. I know you have meditated to purge your heart and soul so that you now believe yourself worthy of the position that you relinquished of your own free will. Otherwise, you would not dare to face me."

"It's just a title, Mephisto," Dr. Strange said. "I should have taken Jericho Drumm, Doctor Voodoo, as my disciple regardless of his station as Houngan Supreme and surrendered the position of Sorcerer Supreme to him only after he was ready. I failed as his mentor; I should have been his master." Dr. Strange hung his head briefly in memory of the dead and then looked up and met Mephisto's eyes with his old confidence. "But I did not come to reminisce about the past or my titles."

"Then, pray tell, why have you come? Perhaps to swear fealty to me? Soon, my realm will encompass all of this dimension and be much too large for me to rule without aid. I could use a man of your talents in my new kingdom. All it would cost is your soul!" Mephisto laughed.

"No, Lord of Demons. I have come to take the Crown of Fear from you." Doctor Strange pointed at Mephisto and held several spells in readiness. Rather than attack, Mephisto laughed uproariously.

"Foolish Mortal! Perhaps I will make you my court jester." Mephisto's hand closed around the sphere protecting Strange and red flames incinerated it. He laughed. "You've grown weak, Strange. In the past, your struggles would have at least provided brief entertainment."

"I'm sorry to have left hell without your permission, but I suspect you would not have granted it to me." Mephisto looked up towards the voice to see his enemy's face peering down at him and realized he was somehow trapped in the Orb of Agamotto.

"Clever illusion, Sorcerer, but you cannot deceive the Lord of Lies." At a mere gesture, the illusion shattered like glass shards.

"I was not seeking to deceive you, Mephisto. I simply wanted to speak to you on equal footing," Dr. Strange said. Mephisto's spell had been broken, and he was finally the size of a normal man.

"Very well." Mephisto summoned a glass of champagne. "I have a little bit of free time before my coronation. When you've had your say and I've had my laugh, we can celebrate my victory."

"At this very moment, young Loki is speaking to a ghost of his older self. The crown is made from the thoughts of young Loki, and in order to stop you from gaining power and unleashing hell, he is willing to give up his very existence, allowing older Loki to totally take over his reincarnation." Dr. Strange paused to let the information sink in.

"And you say you have come to take the Fear Crown from me." Mephisto's scowl made it clear that he understood the situation perfectly well. "Let me guess, your plan goes something like this: I will give you the crown, and you will stop older Loki from supplanting younger Loki. You will tell me that this is a better alternative to playing into the Trickster's hand because I will still have a chance to wrest the crown from you at a future point in time whereas the crown would cease to exist if I were to try to keep it for myself at this point in time."

"Exactly." Dr. Strange held out his hand. "What is your choice?"

Mephisto laughed out loud. "Oh, Loki. I wondered what manner of god you truly are. The house always wins—unless the player cheats." Mephisto handed the crown to the Sorcerer Supreme. "You have won this round, Strange, but I suspect you will find it difficult to hold onto your prize."

"My resolve to protect this dimension has been renewed. Come for me when you will." Dr. Strange held out one hand. "In the name of the All-seeing, in the name of the All-Knowing—"

"Yes, yes. Spare me your verses." Mephisto dismissively waved his hand. "Begone!"

* * *

Elder Loki described the "end" to his younger self. But it was just a pretty lie, and young Loki knew it. Young Loki hung his head.

"I'll be gone forever." Loki pouted and averted his eyes to the right, looking for a sign. "It's beyond any of our power to end the story like that."

"It is. More's the pity. It is time." The large ghostly Loki looked down at his younger self. The magpie spread its wings. "Swallow the lie. I'm sorry, Loki."

"I'm sure you are." Young Loki took the magpie from the pedestal and cradled it in his arms. "Not enough though." He looked to the left, tightened his grip around Ikol, and smiled up at his other self. "Because I was thinking, you do know that you've lost, right?"

"No. I will change."

"No, of course you won't." Loki looked down at the magpie, the only part of older, treacherous Loki outside his head. "We won't let you."

"We?" For the first time, older Loki looked surprised.

"I played and won. I changed." Young Loki glanced over at the Master of Mystic Arts. "I have friends."

"You?!"

Dr. Strange didn't answer him. The light of the Eye of Agamotto shone upon the ghost of Loki, holding the spirit in this plane of existence. Perhaps because Loki himself was a god, the incantation was extremely long and called upon more than just his chief Principalities: Agamotto the All-Seeing, Omnipotent Oshtur, and Hoary Hoggoth. Several of the verses entreated the gods in their native tongue. The room became ablaze in blinding white light, overpowering the strange green and yellow flames and mist of the secret chamber.

"NOO!" cried older Loki as his ghostly form was forcefully pulled into Ikol. A second later, the bird became as stiff as a taxidermy.

"It is done." Dr. Strange took the bird and placed it into a white marble chest. He muttered a spell under his breath as he closed and sealed it. Relief images of Loki's life appeared around the sides of the box and on top was a full-body figure of the Asgardian God of Mischief. It looked like a small sarcophagus. Strange placed a jewel on the breast of the figure on top.

"I was afraid you wouldn't come," Loki admitted. "I didn't think it'd work." He traced the marble face of his older self and couldn't help but to mourn. "He wanted me to cease to exist, I know, but I can't help but to love him, for he was me and I him." Loki bit his lower lip to try to fight back tears.

Dr. Strange pulled the young god into his arms and held him against his chest until he stopped crying.

"The opposite of life is not death but non-existence. To die means having lived, but to not exist means being nothing." Strange knelt down and pulled a handkerchief out of thin air as if he were a human magician using sleight of hand and used it to dab the last of the tears from Loki's cheeks. "Loki has lived his life. It is time for you to live yours."

* * *

"You desire tales. Have this one." The magpie passed a piece of enchantment to the Teller. "It will be the greatest that Loki has ever wrought. And only you will know it." The enchantment circled the cover of the blank book, spelling out: Journey into Mystery.

The story was finished. The Teller closed the book.

"Teller."

"Who's there?" The mystic seer's red eyes searched the empty library.

"You read the wrong book." The Teller glanced at the cover in time to see the swirling gold letters change. "This is the right one. Read it well. The book will reside in my library and the story erased from your memory unless you decide all debts to Loki are paid."

"Who are you?"

"Knowledge is power. Read the book, and then you will know."

"Hm." The Teller settled down to read and glanced at the cover. "Journey into Strange Mystery."


End file.
